


Incendiary

by stellarparallax



Series: Secrets of the Ishval Civil War [3]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fire, Ishbal | Ishval, Ishbalan Character(s) | Ishvalan Character(s), Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 22:31:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11217582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarparallax/pseuds/stellarparallax
Summary: When Roy remembers something that he wishes he could forget, he realises that the status quo may be too much for him to handle alone. But with Riza by his side, he doesn't have to fight the system alone. Unfortunately, Riza offers him a solution that is less than ideal which drives a wedge in their relationship.Trigger Warnings in case you didn't read the tags: minor violence, burning mention, scars mention, non-graphic violence and fire





	Incendiary

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution for Royai Week for the prompt "Incendiary". Go to http://royaiweek.tumblr.com for more information on Royai week and to see other contributions made to it.
> 
> I didn't have time to thoroughly edit this so I apologise in advance for any mistakes.
> 
> Note: Lena is an original character from another fic that I wrote in this series called "Sugar Puff".

The sound of clattering metal shook Riza awake from her nap by Roy’s bed. She spun around and saw Lena collapsed on the ground with a tray of medical devices strewn on the ground.

“Oh God, Lena, are you alright?” Riza grabbed her by the waist and pulled her up.

“I’m… fine. I don’t know why I keep falling lately. It seems that my balance is failing me.”

“How old are you?”

“About fourteen?”

“I think you might be going through a growth spurt. I had similar problems when I was your age.”

“Huh… Well it does help that I only have one leg, does it?” she laughed drily.

“Don’t worry too much. You’ll get used to it eventually.”

“I sure do hope so, this isn’t helping me-”

Lena tripped over a pebble and in her panic, she pressed her hand against Riza’s back to regain her balance. Riza squirmed in pain, her face scrunched up as she tried to repress her tears.

“Did I hurt you? I’m so so sorry!”

“No, it’s…”

“It’s what?” Lena examined her face before adding, “Take off your shirt.”

“What?”

“Take it off. Doctor’s orders.”

Riza looked at Lena feeling a storm brewing in her eyes. She had always been hesitant about showing her bare back to people, even those she trusted, because of the flame alchemy tattoo that she had been marked with. This time, it was different. The tattoo was mostly obscured then, but still she had something she had to protect. After some consideration, she helped Lena to a chair before slowly peeling off her undershirt. She placed one hand over her breasts, the other hand unhooking the clasp of her bra. She turned her back to Lena.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she anticipated hearing Lena gasp. It never happened.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I have some salve for that. Wait here.”

Riza turned around just as Lena left the tent. Confused, she ran her free hand over her the areas of blistered skin, wondering why Lena didn’t react as badly as she thought she would.

 

* * *

 

“I remember, Riza,” Roy was shivering, cradling his own head with his hands and knees, “I remember the girl who saved my life.”

“Who?”

“That doctor… Lena. I… I remember her,” tears were streaming down his cheeks, “I set fire to her village. I killed her family!”

“Roy,” Riza tried to console him.

“No, don’t tell me that it wasn’t my fault. Don’t tell me that I was just following orders. Don’t tell me that it’s okay and I’ll be forgiven because you don’t know that!”

“It’s not going to do you any good getting worked up like this. If you want to talk to Lena I can-”

“No, I won’t be able to face her. Please,” Riza’s heart ached at the sight of Roy being reduced to such a distraught state, “Don’t tell me… Tell me… Riza, what do I do now? Your father.. I… I… This isn’t what flame alchemy was meant to be for.”

Riza inhaled deeply. Her trembling hands moved along the front of her uniform until they found the buttons that she practically ripped off. She threw the shirt to the ground, then reached for the waistband of her trousers. She pinched at the fabric of her undershirt and swiftly pulled it over her head. Finally, she placed an arm over her breasts and unhooked the clasp of her bra. She turned away from him, her back on full display.

“Take it off,” she ordered him, “Take it off so that no one will ever get to use it again.”

“Riza, I can’t do that to you.”

“It’s my fault for not stopping you.”

Suddenly, she felt knees buckle and she fell, her free hand supporting her up so her face didn’t crash into the ground. She started to feel like she was being spun as she fell off a cliff. Her eyelids fluttered frantically, her eyes panicked yet also calm. She felt uncomfortable but she wasn’t a stranger to what came after. She had experienced this many times before when Roy was preparing to fight.

Snap.

She pressed her mouth against her supporting arm, holding back a scream.

 

* * *

 

“Roy!”

Roy turned around and saw Maes running towards him, his arms outstretched and ready to pull Roy into a hug. As soon as he got closer, he stepped to the side so that he wouldn’t be smothered by the taller man.

‘Aww, you’re no fun. Well, you look great. I’m glad that your recovery has been smooth!”

“I don’t know about that, this scar has been pretty rough-looking,” Roy said drily, “Have you gotten new mail from Gracia?”

Maes’s eyes narrowed, “Hmm, yes. Why do you ask?”

“Well I figured that you’d start telling me anyway so I should probably expedite the process. Come now, spill.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely, Gracia has been doing great. She’s worried about me a lot, which is so cute, but she’s also making great progress in her apprenticeship at a flower shop. She has been practicing her arrangements and she thinks that she’ll be able to become a full-fledge florist soon!”

Maes saw Roy’s jaw clench and unclench. It was a tell he had that indicated that he was bothered by something but was hiding it, but Maes wouldn’t be able to get him to confide in him just by calling it out. He had to be careful and spring it on him in a way that would catch him off-guard.

“She also told me to send the names of any fallen soldiers so that she would be able to send flowers to their families. Isn’t she just the kindest angel you’ve ever met?”

“Hmm, yes.”

“You know, I feel like she drives my will to keep fighting. She lights a flame in me that I can’t understand but I listen to it nonetheless. She makes me want to stay alive so that I can see her again… Even if that means that I have to do things that I don’t want to.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, yes it is. So what’s wrong between you and Riza?”

“What-...,” his voice croaked, “What makes you think there’s something wrong between us?”

“Because A) you never ask about Gracia, B) your jaw clenches and unclenches when you’re hiding something, and C) I accidentally walked in on Riza getting the dressing on her back changed. Spill.”

Roy parted his lips to speak, then promptly pushed them together again, forming a thin line. He wasn’t confident that he’d be able to find the right words to explain the incident to Maes in a way that wouldn’t make Maes hate him nearly as much as he hated himself. Maes was a total sucker for love and romance and finding out that his best friend hurt someone he loved may be too much for the man to tolerate.

“I…”

“Okay, I’m not going to pry because it seems that your feelings are complicated enough. But if there’s something wrong between the two of you, you should talk to her,” he pulled Roy into a hug and for the first time, he didn’t get pushed away.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Riza?” Roy called out as he pulled open the tent flaps, to find both Riza and Lena sitting at a table and looking back at him.

Riza cleared her throat, “Yes, Colonel?”

“Uhm, may I speak to you?”

“Should I leave?”

Both Roy and Riza turned to look at Lena, then at each other, an unspoken agreement formed between them.

“No, I think you should stay,” Riza said gently, lacing her fingers between Lena’s.

Roy came closer to them, then turned around and took a few steps away. Then, he turned back at them and lifted his hand, before putting it down and and walking away again. He paced around the interior of the tent for a good few minutes before settling down into one of the chairs at the table, finally ready to talk.

“Lena, do you remember how your family was killed?”

Lena’s eyebrows were knitted, “Our village was burned down by a state alchemist.”

“That… That was me.”

Riza tighten her grip on Lena’s hand.

“That was you?”

“Yeah… They also call me the Flame Alchemist.”

“I… Why? Why, Roy?” tears were pooling in Lena’s eyes and the hand in Riza’s was starting to shake, “What did we ever do to you?”

“Nothing! You didn’t do anything wrong! I… There’s no excuse for what I did.”

“Were you also the one who burned Riza’s back?”

“I can explain,” Riza started.

“What are you trying to prove? You kill a village of innocent people, you hurt your subordinate. You’re not the Roy I thought I knew,” Riza could feel Lena trying to pull her hand away, but she held onto it firmly.

“Lena, I told him to do burn my back. He was feeling guilty about what he did to your village so I told him to burn off the flame alchemy tattoo on my back. I didn’t want anyone to ever use it to hurt innocent people again.”

Lena just looked at her in disbelief.

“I know that you think you know us, but everyone that wears the uniform of an Amestrian soldier has been complicit in this violence. We can’t take back what we did and you never have to forgive us. But Roy has a plan to change the way things are, and I will be right there making damn sure that it becomes reality.”

The air around the trio thickened -- not in the way when the percentage of oxygen was rising in the vicinity, but in a way that made Riza's chest tighten and shoulders slump. Her eyes darted from Roy to Lena as she waited for either of them to say something.

“You can do something for me. I’m not asking, I’m telling,” Lena eyes stared deeply into Roy’s, not even the slightest hesitation was evident, “Help me get medical supplies.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading till the end! Please leave kudos, share or comment if you liked it (or comment if you have constructive criticism to give me). 
> 
> Also, I'm calling out Dylan for being so kind and supportive to me throughout this writing process. This story was very challenging both to come up with and to execute. I really appreciate how patient she's been with me while I screamed at her in frustration. Please check out her fics on AO3 and her fanart on tumblr with the handle: inkuisitivskins. I'm confident that you will love her and her work at least half as much as I do <3


End file.
